Renee Porsia

I thought I'd change it up for my latest blog.

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am usually right on top of the latest and greatest tech toy or video game but for some reason, I never wanted to purchase Guitar Hero. I guess I thought that if I tried it, it would interfere with my real guitar playing and I didn't see what the all the hype was about.

Well, I got Guitar Hero for Christmas this year and I have to say that it's been the most fun I have had in a long time. I don't know if I should be admitting that but it's true! When I strap on my guitar and play a gig, I actually feel like I am playing in a band! You get the whole rock star experience.

You can even play against someone somewhere else in the world if you are connected to a network. Not only can you play guitar but you can play bass, the drums and even sing. It is very addictive.

I'm not going to lie, it does take a lot of practice and you can even get booed off the stage but don't get frustrated. The guitar has colored buttons that represent notes on a guitar, it has a bar for strumming and even a whammy bar for those long notes. You watch the television screen and you have to press the right colored button that coincides with what are supposed to be different notes coming at you on the television. Don't worry there is a practice mode to get you ready to rock!

It comes with plenty of songs to choose from so you can get your rock star on!

This game is not just for kids. We adults can have just as much fun if not more. I highly recommend it if you ever wanted to play in a band or if you still have that music bug in you like me. Play it alone, at the local bar or even invite a few friends over and for one night you can be AreoSmith, Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar or even Cold Play. It's truly a party in a box! Alcohol not included! ; )

I give it 5 sold signs out of 5!!!!

When I talk with home owners who have their homes up for sale, usually I ask them how they found their Realtor. Did they use the Realtor in the past, was the Realtor referred to them, is the Realtor their friend or family member? I'm shocked to hear that no, they didn't use the Realtor in the past, no, the Realtor was not referred to them, no, the Realtor is not a friend or family member. They hired them simply because they saw their signs in their area so they figured they must sell a lot of homes in the area. I just cringe when I hear that.

I also find that most people do not even know what the difference is between the selling agent and the buying agent. So, lets start there. Get out pen and paper and get ready to take some notes. Are you familiar with the Consumer Notice? If not, its time to become familiar with it BEFORE you hire a Realtor and put your home up for sale. Here is a link to the Pennsylvania Real Estate Consumer Notice: http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/LIB/bpoa/20/10/recconsnotice.pdf. You need to familiarize yourself with a few terms such as: Seller Agency, Buyer Agency, Dual Agency and Designated Agency. Not knowing or understanding these terms could wind up costing you thousands of dollars.

Once you understand the duties of a selling agent, you are ready to start looking for the best Realtor who will meet your needs.

Just because you see a bunch of sale signs in your area with a particular Realtor's name on it, does not mean that they will sell your home. In fact, now that you understand what a selling agent does, you now know that the selling agent DOES NOT sell your home. If you see a bunch of sale signs in your area, all that means is that those homes have NOT yet sold. What you should be looking for is Realtors who have actually SOLD homes in your area. How do you do this? Simple, by interviewing Realtors and asking them how many listings they have and for how long they have had them. Now, it is quite normal for a Realtor to have listings but red flags should go up if the Realtor has more than 7 listings in my professional opinion.

Think about it for one second. If a Realtor has say, 12 listings and those listings are homes that are listed for more than what your home is worth, you must ask yourself, how is the Realtor going to be able to give your listing all of the attention it needs when he/she is busy with 12 other listings but better yet, more expensive listings already. Who's listing is the Realtor going to be working more on, your home that is listed for $150 or the listing that is $300? Sure, there are Realtors out there who will say that they have a great team that will be working on your listing but remember, you contacted this Realtor because you saw all of their sale signs in your area and you think they sell most of the homes in your area and here they are pushing you off on "their team". That screams out that this Realtor does not have time for your home! Run for the hills. If there is a problem with your listing, who will be handling it for you, the Realtor or someone on the team? Who will be returning your phone calls or emails, the Realtor or someone on the team?

You need to find the Realtor who can give your home the attention it needs. A Realtor who is hungry. The Realtor who will be making all of the decisions regarding your home. You do not want to be dealing with someone who needs to call the Realtor to find out what to do next. Time is of the essence and sometimes there are time sensitive issues that need answers right away and can't wait for one of the Realtor's team members to find the Realtor and pin him/her down to explain what is going on. That time could be the difference between getting your home sold or losing a sale!

Next, not only do you need to find a Realtor who will be able to give you and your home the attention it needs, you will need to find the Realtor who will price your home realistically. There will be Realtors who tell you that they can get you exactly what you want. Run from those Realtors. Realtors who make promises or yes you to death or even say "trust me", are usually the Realtors who you should stay away from. It's been my experience that the Realtors who I have come in contact with who said "trust me" were the very ones who I should have ran for the hills from. They were the Realtors who would have sold their own mothers just to get a sale no matter if it was good, bad or ugly. I speak from experience. I recently had a client who said to me "just dont' say trust me." I told her that I couldn't say that until my job was done the way I told her I was going to do it. Then and only then could I ask her to trust me. I first needed to earn her trust and respect! I am happy to say that I did that!

After you find the Realtor who will give you and your home the attention it needs and the Realtor who will be honest with you and price your home realistically you now need to find out what your Realtor will do TO GET YOUR HOME THE ATTENTION IT NEEDS TO GET THE WORD OUT. What you need are buyer agents. Now that you know that your Realtor is NOT going to be bringing buyers to view your home because if he/she did, he/she would then be a dual agent, (and keep in mind that your selling agent cannot just bring buyers to view your home without FIRST getting WRITTEN permission from both you and the buyer to become a dual agent! Do you know that most Realtors DO NOT GET WRITTEN PERMISSION from their clients before bringing buyers into their home to view it?) you need to attract buyer agents. Every buyer agent needs to know that your home is for sale so that they can tell their buyers. These are buyers who have actually hired a buyer agent to find them a home. These buyers are usually already qualified for a mortgage ( i say usually because there are those agents who still just run out to meet with buyers they never met before after receiving a phone call from them to show them a property without knowing anything about them or even if they can purchase a home), these are usually buyers who have been looking for homes with their buyer agent and are ready to buy. So, what is your selling agent going to do to attract buyer agents? You need to find out so make sure to ask "what will you do to attract buyer agents?" What will your selling agent do to attract buyers? You won't know until you ask. So make sure to ask.

After you find the Realtor who will give you and your home the attention it needs, the Realtor who will list your home realistically and always be honest with you and the Realtor who will get the word out to buyer agents and buyers, you need to make sure your Realtor has a plan. You don't want your home to become just another statistic by sitting, sitting and sitting on the market until next year and believe me, there are homes that have been on the market that long. What is your selling agent's plan? Keep in mind that if your home goes up for sale and doesn't get any showings within the first two weeks, something is wrong. Your selling agent may need to sit down with you with new comparables. Perhaps your area prices have changed and now your home is priced too high. THE FIRST TWO WEEKS ARE THE MOST CRITICAL IN SELLING YOUR HOME. What will your selling agent do to get feedback from the buyers who view your home? Feedback is very important. You need to know what those buyers thought about your home. Was it too cluttered, did it smell bad, do the rooms look smaller than the photos or did they feel the price was too high? Obviously you can't do anything about the size of your room but the point is that you need to know what actual buyers are saying about your home.

In closing, the reason so many homes are sitting on the market is because Realtors are putting their own interests before that of their client. What good does any Realtor do for a client by setting them up for failure just to pick up another over priced listing?Nobody wins when Realtors put homes on the market at unrealistic prices. Realtors are supposed to be the expert NOT the home owner. What home owner doesn't think their home is worth more than that of their neighbor? I do not know one single person who doesn't think their home is worth more than everyone else's. It takes a very strong, aggressive,professional, confident Realtor to walk away from an unrealistic seller and in the long run that Realtor is the Realtor you want to have on your side and who will get your home SOLD.

I've worked with For Sale By Owners for my entire career now. So, I wanted to blog about the dos and don't for FSBOs.

There will always be For Sale By Owners but lately I've noticed many more For Sale By Owner signs popping up these days. I drive by and they are still sitting and sitting and sitting. Now is not the time to let your home sit still with a sign on your lawn screaming "bargain", "somethings wrong with me", "my price is way too high", "my owners are desperate!" If you are a For Sale By Owner who has had your home up for sale for over 90 days and you think those statements are not what your sign is screaming, you are wrong or in denial!

Whenever I speak with a For Sale By Owner I always ask them specific questions such as "so, why do you want to sell on your own?" The answers I ALWAYS get are the same, "we, figured we have time so we thought we would just try and if we don't sell it by such and such a time, we will hire a Realtor." My reply is ALWAYS the same which is that you don't have time. You can't get time back. The goal is not to see how long you can have your home up for sale or how many people come to see your home. Another answer I get is "we've had a lot of people come see our home." BUT, did anyone buy your home out of all of those people? The answer is always NO!

The key is to put the home up for sale at a realistic price and sell the home in the quickest amount of time as possible. That's it, end of story! FACT is that if your home isn't getting offers, or you are not getting feedbackfrom the buyers who are walking in and walking out like a revolving door, you are WASTING time! Time people. Which brings me back to my original statement which is that you can't get time back. The longer your home is up for sale, just sitting, the more time you waste. Here is a question that I pose to FSBOs. "If you priced your home properly and your home is as great as you say it is, why haven't you sold it yet?" They have no answer for that question. Heres the answer, the home is not priced properly, bottom line. It doesn't matter what you have done to your home. There is a such thing as over improving your home. If you have over improved your home you have to make peace with that and move on. Either reduce your price to what it should be or take the home off of the market.

Most For Sale By Owners have reasons for why they want to sell on their own and here are the top 10 reasons I always get starting with number 10:

10. I have plenty of time so I figured I would try

9. My neighbor just sold on their own so I figured if he/she could

do anyone could do it

8. I used a Realtor the last time I sold a home and he/she didn't do anything for

me

7. I know my home better than any Realtor does

6. It's a seller's market

5. My home will sell itself

4. I don't have enough money to pay a Realtor

3. All a Realtor will do is throw a sign on my lawn

2. I don't like Realtors

And the number one reason I always get for why home owners want to sell on their own is:

1. I don't want to pay a Realtor

I'm not writing this blog to hurt For Sale By Owners or to make them angry. I'm writing it to help you!

Hey look, I know that there are many home owners out there who do not like Realtors. I get it. I'm a Realtor and there are a lot of Realtors out there that I don't like.

So, here are a list of things that you must do in order to be successful in selling on your own. And, if you are going to attempt to sell on your own, you must set a time when you will hire a professional and it shouldn't be 2 or three months down the road. My professional opinion is that if you do not get an acceptable offer within 30 days, hire a professional.

First and foremost, realize that selling your home will be like another full-time job. You must take every single phone call, talk to A LOT of people and ALWAYS HAVE YOUR HOME READY FOR SHOWINGS.

Sit down and make two lists. One list for all the pro reasons for wanting to sell on your own and then another list of all the con reasons why it wouldn't be wise to sell on your own.

Make another list (I hope you like lists) of all of the things that you will do to advertise your new listing as well as where you will advertise. Make sure to set a budget of how much you will spend on advertising.

Either get a new phone number that you will give in all of your advertisements for buyers to call so you will know that those callers are buyers and then set times for when you will check your messages throughout the day and another time for when you will return phone calls. And you can even put that on your message such as: Thanks for calling about (address) please leave me your name and dont' forget your phone number. I will be checking my messages at 11:00 a.m. and again at 3:00 p.m. I will return all calls between 7-8 this evening. Then do not forget to do what you promised. If you do not, you will loose any potential buyer. Or simply just give out your cell phone number or your home number. If you do that, try to not let children answer the phone. Remember, you are a professional and you wouldn't want a Realtor's child answering "YOUR" call if you called me about one of my listings. Right?

Contact 3 professionals. It is my professional opinion that the 3 professionals you contact be the ones that you are considering hiring if you do not sell on your own. Ask those 3 professionals for a home value report. How much would they list your home for "right now?" Also, it is my professional opinion that you be realistic and not choose the professional who just answers yes to all of your questions. Choose the professional and price that is the most realistic.

Once you have your professional and listing price, now you are ready to start your business venture.

Make another list of how many open houses you will have. Open houses are a necessity for For Sale By Owners because its the only way you have to attract potential buyers. Don't forget to have a sign-in sheet. You will need this sign-in sheet after the open house to call all of the buyers to see if they are interested in your home and to reschedule a second private showing for any interested buyers. It is this time that you will also get mortgage information from these buyers who are interested to see if they are ready to purchase. Remember, no mortgage information, no sale so move on. NEXT!!!

Make a list of internet places where you will advertise your new listing. Will you use one of those For Sale By Owner sites? If so, there are costs. Most of them will charge a non refundable fee to post your listing on their site and there will be another non refundable fee for listing it on the MLS. (Multiple Listing) and remember when you list it on the MLS, you will be paying another fee to the buyer agent who brings you an acceptable offer which can be anywhere from 2% to 4%. And that buyer agent WILL NOT be representing you or doing your paperwork. You are paying them for bringing you an acceptable offer and qualified buyer. You will have to be prepared to do your own paperwork or will need to pay someone to do your paperwork.

Keep a list of all of the fees you will be paying.

When all of your advertising is all set-up, you are ready to start showing your new listing. Remember, this is not your home now, its your listing. Throw all of your emotions out the window. You can't take things that buyers will say personally. You can't get emotional when a buyer gives you a lower offer than what you expected. Remember, no offer means no sale. You can't work with what you don't have! An offer is a starting place!

Make sure that the outside of your home is attractive. No toys lying around, no tools, no high grass, no animal waste, trash or dead flowers or bushes. Remember first impressions are key. You only get one chance to make a great first impression!!!

Make sure your home SMELLS great! Bring someone in and ask them how your home smells. You may think that your home smells good but to someone else it may smell bad. Do you smoke? Start smoking outside. The last thing you want is a non smoker to come in your home and smell smoke. Being a non smoker myself, I find it a turn off to walk into a home and smell cigarettes. Hey, I'm just being honest! Put something in your home that will make your home smell attractive! Mind over matter!

Do yourself a huge favor and try not to become a chatty Kathy. Sure, you can tell potential buyers about your home and you MUST disclose all potential issues with your home such as leaks, cracks, and structual issues to all interested buyers. Buyers do not want to hear everything about what you have done to your home. They are only interested in facts.

Let the buyers walk around your home by themselves. Try not to follow them. They want to picture themselves living in their new home.

Take all photos off of your walls or around your home. Buyers do not want to see your memories. They want to picture what their memories will look like.

The most important task you will have will be negotiations. You can't become all unhinged when you are negotiating. You must remain calm. You can't become emotional. This is business. If you do not like confrontation or if you are shy or have issues with saying NO, perhaps negotiating is not your strong suit and if that is the case, you may not be a very good candidate for being a For Sale By Owner. Getting your sale price is your one and only goal.

Remember not to get frustrated. This will not be easy as you can see. If it was, everyone would be doing it. And remember this is all for just one home. Realtors have to do this for every home that they list.

If you do these things that I suggest, you can be a successful For Sale By Owner. I know it!

There are many more things you will have to do but these are key things that you should be focused on. Just do not be afraid or too stuborn to ask for help when the time comes! The last thing you want is to sell your home for under market value and that can happen if you keep your home on the market too long!

In an ever changing real estate market you have to prepared and have a plan. The market is saturated with inventory. Don't become another statistic.

Most of all remember to have fun and please take all security precautions. Remember, you are letting complete strangers into your home that you know nothing about.

Feel free to comment about this blog and if you would like more information on how to be a successful For Sale By Owner, feel free to contact me. Good Luck!!

Posted by Renee Porsia under For Buyers, For Sellers, For Realty Professionals, Regional News, RE/MAX, selling, buying, Renee Porsia, NAR, Philadelphia Market Statistics, Loans, Prices, Ask a REALTOR, twitter, zolve, par, wordpress, newsvine, digg, yahoo! buzz, myspace, google, ethics, real estate tomato, real estate blogs, realtor.com, Virtual Philadelphia, facebook, Pennsylvania

Its been years in the making but its almost complete and coming to a computer near you. Welcome to Virtual Philadelphia.

Why a Virtual Philadelphia? For many reasons such as anyone anywhere in the world thinking of moving or visiting Philadelphia but can't get here, can now can take a tour of Philadelphia and all it has to offer all while sitting at home in front of their computer in their pjs. They will get the full Philadelphia experience minus the delicious smell of the famous Philadelphia cheesesteak. Sorry, smellivision not yet available but give it time.

Virtual Philadelphia is made to scale in 3-D.

Users will have to download the application and create a user id in order to be able to utilize all Virtual Philadelphia has to offer then they can check out nightlife, visit historic buildings and see residential neighborhoods. Users will also be able to view future developments which will include floor plans and provide interactive tours of the interior. They can also see time lapsed construction which can be recreated for those history buffs.

You can even make an avatar of yourself and then drive,walk, fly or hover through the streets of Philadelphia. There are moving cars, buses as well as other pedestrians walking around and soon you will be able to talk with other avatars walking around Philadelphia. Oh, I'm sorry where are my manners? What's an avatar? An avatar is graphic representation of you in cyberspace.

Local patrons will be able to attract consumers right to their virtual front doors and provide a wide array of information about their services and business. Tourists will be able to arrange a business meeting, a convention or even plan a group tour right from their home or office.

Consumers planning their trip for their upcoming visit to say, Independence Hall can take a virtual stroll through the historic grounds even before they step off the plane or even book a hotel, shop, view a menu or even view a calendar of up coming events.

This state of the art technology developed by GeoSim Systems in conjunction with the Center City District and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau will put Philadelphia ahead of the technology curve. Other tools include blogs, podcasts and rss feeds.

Business meetings, conventions, tourisim, education, real estate, finance and city planning are just a few of the industries that Virtual Philadelphia will soon impact.

If you would like to take a stroll through beautiful Virtual Philadelphia click here: http://www.centercityphila.org/business/VirtualPhiladelphia.php for more information.

I don't know about you but I am extremely excited and can't wait for Virtual Philadelphia to be completed. I believe it has the potential for so many great things to come.

My special thanks to Philadelphiausa.travel for their enormous contribution to my blog.

Let me know what you think of Virtual Philadelphia.

The Realtor And The Over Priced Listing. What You Should Know.

Posted by Renee Porsia under For Buyers, For Sellers, For Realty Professionals, General Information, RE/MAX, selling, buying, Renee Porsia, NAR, Philadelphia Market Statistics, Loans, Prices, Ask a REALTOR, twitter, zolve, par, wordpress, newsvine, digg, yahoo! buzz, myspace, google, ethics, real estate tomato, real estate blogs, realtor.com

As you can imagine, I talk with Realtors every day and one thing that just makes my blood boil and gets under my skin is when a Realtor says to me, "I have a new listing. The price is ..." If I know the area and I know the price is too high or just ridiculous I tell them and they always say "Oh, I know its way too high but I had to get the listing." WHAT????

Taking an over priced listing is not in anyone's best interest and just adds fuel to the fire to the on goingargument for consumers to say they do not need a Realtor or that Realtors do nothing.

What happens when a Realtor takes a listing when they know the price the owner wants to list at is too high or unrealistic? To name a few, it gives the owner false expectations, sets the owner up for failure, the home will sit on the market for a very long period of time, it will help sell other listings in the area, it will scare away serious buyers and it makes the Realtor look bad as well as the rest of our industry. The home could wind up selling for UNDER MARKET VALUE. Who wins in a situation like this? Nobody wins. Everyone loses. Especially the seller.

A Realtor will take an over priced listing for many reasons but the one that I hear often is "I need the business. I will just get them to lower it." They would rather have an over priced listing than no listing at all. They do have a plan believe it or not they tell me. The hope is that the over priced listing will bring buyers to that home and sell them another.

A Realtor who takes an over priced listing is usually very weak. Weak in other aspects of their job such as negotiating for thier client. Let me explain. When I go to a seller's home who is thinking of listing, I do my homework prior to going out to see the home. I look at other similar homes in the area that sold within the past 3 to 6 months. I have a price in mind before I get there and then once I see it I can make adjustments for home improvements or no home improvements. I discuss my market analysis with the seller and how I came to my price and if the owner insists that I am wrong and wants me to list the home at thier suggested price two things will happen at that point. I will tell them that I will list the home at their price for 30 days only and let them know that I do not advise them doing that and I will put this into the Listing Agreement and have them initial and date it. If they do not want to list it at that price for just 30 days then I thank them for having me out and tell them if they change their mind or if they hire someone else and they are not happy with them, they can always contact me at a later date. This way, the seller understands that I do not agree with their price but I am willing to try and that their is a time limit, I am not raising their expectations and most of all, I am not setting them up for failure. They also know that I am not a yes Realtor who will just yes them to death. I have standards. This is called negotiating. I agreed to try but I didn't give in just to get the listing.

If a Realtor is weak when negotiating the terms of the listing with the seller, what do you think will happen when the Realtor is negotiating the sale price in behalf of their seller with a buyer agent?

A Realtor is supposed to represent their client's best interests. Leading the client on by listing their home at an unrealistic price is not in the client's best interest. The only interest the Realtor is thinking of is their own and that is just sad!